Dick Murdoch had been gradually turning heel for a while. It started when Flair made a big deal of dodging Butch Reed after he nearly beat Flair by stating that he'd only defend against the North American Champion from then on. Dick felt insulted that he was somehow being labeled as the easier foe. Then Reed won the North American Title to put himself in line for a shot instead of Dick who was a sore loser about it. He clinched the turn by attacking Ted DiBiase after he wouldn't give up his NWA World Title match to Dick.

The match was supposed to have gone to Butch Reed, but Reed was taken out by Dick Slater who was a bounty hunter for Ric Flair. Ted had been a heel with no suggestion of a turn coming, but went babyface by acting humble and reasonable when dealing with Murdoch before the attack and then playing babyface all the way against Flair during the match itself. Even though the angle was the big deal here, the Flair vs. DiBiase match was really good with the fans in the Irish McNeill Boys Club in Shreveport, which was a studio wrestling setup for all intents and purposes, getting into it and completely buying the turns.